VALIDATION OF AN ITALIAN TRANSLATION OF THE 30-ITEM GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR USE IN AUSTRALIA

A validity study of an Italian translation of the GHQ-30 was conducted on a sample of 96 Italian-born subjects in the community in Perth, We stern Australia, using the shortened version of the Present State Exam ination as the gold standard for a ''case'' of non-psychotic psychiatr ic morbidity. The 96 subjects were a subsample of a study of 1109 subj ects seen in a community survey, in which 45.8% had a score above 4 on the GHQ-30. It was found that 5/6 was the most appropriate cut-off po int. At this level the sensitivity was 81.2%, the specificity 79.7%, t he positive predictive value 66.7%, the negative predictive value 89.5 % and the overall misclassification rate 19.8%. Adjusting the results to truly reflect the lower case-prevalence rate in the community, usin g a method suggested by Goldberg, the corresponding values were 57.7%, 92.6%, 66.7%, 89.5% and 14.6%. It was concluded that this version of the GHQ-30 is suitable for use in the Italian-born, in the community a nd in general practice in Australia, using a cut-off point of 5/6.